Hindsight is 20-20
by nightfuryperson
Summary: Another fight with Leo, another trip topside to let off some steam. But this trip didn't turn out quite the same as the hundreds before it. Rated for some mentions of blood. Probably a two shot. Please R&R!


**Hey there guys! So, just another fluffy story between some of the TMNT. I got it done a lot faster than I thought I would. Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own TMNT.**

"And don't freakin' come back!" Raph hollered into the cold winter air after the retreating form of the purple dragons. His short puffs of breath were visible because of the low temperature, and his feet were losing feeling from standing in the snow. He rolled his shoulders, wincing when he jostled the stab wound in his side. '_Punk got in a lucky shot._' He had come up after yet another fight with Leo, trying to find something to vent his anger on, and as luck would have it, he ran into the purple dragons. Normally the goons wouldn't have been much of a fight, but the low temperature did not agree with Raph's cold blood, and made him sluggish. He had been too busy to notice the one guy sneaking up behind him with a knife. Raph grunted. "I'll just patch myself up when I get back to the lair." He muttered, hauling one leg out of the snow. But as soon as he took his first step, the world began to spin. He steadied himself on a nearby wall, blinking with wide eyes. '_Okay, weird. Come on, stop being a sissy. You can do this._' Raph steeled himself, but as he took his next step, the pain in his wound flared, and he was sent to the ground, breathing even harder than before.

He reached one shaky hand to his side, then pulled it back to look at. It was covered in blood. The wound was a lot worse than he had first anticipated. '_Maybe I should call Don._' As he reached for his T-phone, he remembered something; he had left it at home, not wanting anyone to try and track him. With a groan, Raph tried to pull himself forward on his arms, but the pain grew even worse, so he stopped, collapsing on his side and panting in the snow. Not only did it hurt too much, but it was too slow. The nearest man hole was fairly far away, and if he were actually lucky enough to get there without being seen, there would definitely be a problem if he were leaving a trail of blood behind him. The blood had started to slither down his side across his plastron, creating a red splotch were it touched down in the snow. Raph watched it for a while, almost mesmerized as the snow grew crimson with the liquid. He had never seen so much. Now, Raph would never claim that he was the brightest among his brothers, but he was certain that losing that much blood could not be a good thing. Raph huffed a bitter laugh. This was exactly what he and Leo had been fighting about.

Raph closed his eyes, the pain now diminishing to a dull throb, but the blood flow not slowing. '_Well, you were right Leo. I really screwed up this time._' Just then, he heard a shout. It sounded a lot like… his name. "-ph! Raphael!"

'_Leo?_'

"Raph, can you hear me?"

'_Well, no duh I can hear you. You're yelling pretty damn loud._'

"Raph, w- RAPH!" There was a brief crunching sound which Raph could only assume was the sound of Leo running through the snow, before there was a thump in front of him, and a shaky hand cupped his cheek and turned his head to the side. He groggily lifted his heavy eyelids to come face to face with two terrified blue irises. That got his eyes to open a bit more easily; Leo was _never _this scared looking, even around the Shredder. "R-Raph, can you hear me?" Leo asked, his voice small and alarmingly close to tears. Raph nodded slowly, doing his best to keep his eyes form closing. "My God, Raph, what happened to you?" Leo shifted so that he could get a better look at the wound, which was hard to see under all the blood. He looked back to Raph's glowing green eyes, his heart cracking when he saw how dull they were. Slowly stroking his thumb over his little brother's cheekbone, he wildly patted his belt searching for his T-phone. He pressed the panic button, not believing that he'd be able to inform 'Doctor Don' of the injury without passing out.

He continued to stroke the side of Raph's face as he removed his belt and pressed it against the wound to staunch the blood flow. "It's ok Raph. I got you, just hang on." Leo could feel the tears sting his eyes as he looked the other over. '_This is my fault. If I hadn't fought with him…_' He was pulled out of his morose thoughts when he heard Raph trying to say something below him. "Shhh. No, Raph. Don't speak. The others are on the way, just try to conserve your strength." Raph looked up at him with wide, apologetic eyes that completely contrasted his normal character. "You were right." He croaked out. "No. Raph, no. I wasn't right. I _never_ meant to say that to you." He felt one tear streak down his cheek. Then another. Then another. Before he knew it he had completely broken down, trying to keep his sobs down for Raph's sake. Raph grunted. "Don' cry L-Leo. 'm not w'rth it." Leo gripped his brother tighter, anger flaring in his watery eyes. "Raph, don't you ever say that again, you hear me? You, Donnie, Mikey and Splinter are everything to me, so don't you dare tell me that you're not worth it." Just as soon as it came, the anger vanished, leaving behind a shaky and terrified young turtle who was afraid of losing a little brother and a best friend all because of a stupid fight. Throwing away his pride, he leaned down, and for the first time in years, he full-on hugged Raph. He brought the younger's head to his plastron, nuzzling it with his beak as the tears returned. "You're gonna be ok Raph. I-I-I promise, y-you're go-n-n-a be ok."

Raph was dimly aware of Leo talking to him, saying that he would be ok, but the only thing that Raph could really focus on was the hug. He had seen and read those cliché descriptions of how when a loved one holds you, you feel safe; he had always just assumed that it was kind of like having a shield, where you knew that there were demons waiting outside o get you, but it was harder for them to get through to you. But this was completely different. It was like nothing bad even existed in the world. He couldn't even remember the pain he had been in. Subconsciously, Raph snuggled closer, pressing his face impossibly deeper into Leo's plastron. At the feeling of his brother coming closer, Leo choked on another sob, tightening his grip ever so slightly on the limp form in his arms. He was starting to wonder if the others would ever get there, when he heard the rumble of the Shellraiser's engine. He grinned in relief. "See? Told ya' you'd be okay."

**So, what do you think? I know it's kind of OOC, but I thought that it came out pretty well. 2****nd**** chapter should be up soon. Please review!**


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